Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120205935 - Sacramento County Waste Management & Recycling

Inspection Information - Office: Ca Sacramento

Investigation Summary

On September 3, 2007, Employee #1, a truck driver, was working at a waste transfer facility where tractor trailers back into the compactor and are loaded with trash to be taken via public roads and highways to the Keifer Landfill. The driver was responsible for loading his truck and operating the compactor. Employee #1 was having trouble getting the compactor to work properly. He contacted another employee (Employee #2) to assist. After getting the compactor to work properly, the truck was ready to be driven out and away. Employee #1 got into the truck, and Employee #2 closed the driver side door to the back of the trailer. Employee #2 walked around the back of trailer to the passenger side to close the other trailer door. Employee #2 unhooked the door from the side of the trailer, and Employee #1 pulled forward. On the passenger side of the trailer was a metal staircase with three steel bollards that protect the stairs. Employee #2 was closing the door to the trailer, while standing in front of the door and between the door and the bollard closest to the building. The metal door of the trailer did not have enough room in this location to make a full swing and close. As the door was being closed, it caught on the metal stair case. As Employee #1 pulled forward, Employee #2 was caught between the door that was caught on the metal staircase and the steel bollard. Employee #2 was squeezed between the door, as it moved forward, and the steel bollard. Employee #2 was injured and died of blunt force trauma to the chest and stomach.

Keywords:chest, steel tube, trailer truck, caught between, crushed, trash compactor, tractor trailer, door, stomach